A Hunter's Legacy
by Midnight-Mist49
Summary: A Monster Hunter story about a young hunter's journey through the world of Minegarde. As his career expands, he becomes more skilled, and embarks on new and exciting adventures.
1. Chapter 1

I was so excited to get my hunting license. I had practiced with my Hunter's Knife for months in the fields using scarecrows as targets. The tall grass helped me work on stealth to. I woke up one day to go train. I slid into my hunters greaves; A gift from my father. They were the best pieces of armor I had. I pulled my leather mail on, and fastened my vambraces tight. I stumbled outside, trying to get helmet on. It was still early in the morning; the village was hauntingly silent in the still night air. As always, the village chief was already awake, and sitting at a wooden table smoking a pipe. I waved to him, as I started off towards the field. I paused in fear as I saw six silhouettes speedily run across the field, it was to dark to see them, but I could see the trails they were making through the grass. I clumsily sprinted back to the village square, and climbed up to the bell tower. I heaved the rope downward with all my strength. A deafening _thwong_ confirmed danger. I climbed back down just in time to see the chief knock on everyone's door to tell them to get to their cellars.

I gripped my Hunters Knife tightly. Just then I heard loud, squawking roars all around me. I spun around as two blue raptors came at me. I had never fought real enemies before. I rolled out of the way, and leaped forward. My blade came down in a quick arc, and cut one of the monsters down its side. It doubled over and bled profusely on the ground. The other had gotten behind me, and leaped at me, knocking me to the ground. As the raptor walked up to me, a piercing gunshot accompanied a large shell blasting through the beast's left leg, I got up and stabbed the wounded creature repeatedly. I looked over to see the village chief standing with a crossbow over his shoulder, pointing behind me. Another one jumped out from behind the orchard. I whirled around, and gashed the creature down the middle. It split in half, and smacked against the side of a house. Two more were coming at me. I gave the chief a hand signal he had taught me. He reloaded his gun, and aimed carefully. Right when they were about 3 yards away, a harpoon shot out from the old mans gun, and impaled one of the beasts. I went to work on the other two, slashing, and stabbing at them furiously. I slaughtered one so bad; the corpse on the ground was barely identifiable. The other had been beheaded as I swung around and caught it in the throat, and cut through.

After all the monsters were slain, people started coming out of their houses, checking if it was safe. The chief walked over to me, pulled a slip of paper out of his bag, and gave it to me. My heart warmed. It could have been the warmth of the rising sun, or the fact that I had just been handed a hunting license. It was then, in the rising sun, in the presence of my village, I became a hunter.

To be Continued...


	2. Chapter 2

_It was terrible. People were running and screaming, and houses were burning. Some residents went in their homes, some fled. Then a deafening roar. A crashing sound activated an alarm. Evacuation._

I shot out of bed. It was still dark. My bed was soaked with sweat. It was a dream. My Felyne lay curled up asleep in a make shift bed. The chief had gotten him for me as a present for becoming a hunter. Musashi was the cat's name. He had a white stomach and a white spot on his head. The rest of him was either black, or dark gray. I sit on the bed trying to regain my thoughts. It seemed like hours before I started to fall asleep.

_I grabbed a nearby citizen to see what was going on. Another, louder roar. The man's face went white. He started twitching a jerking furiously, and his face contorted into impossible shapes. Then he slid to the ground. Limp. In horror I ran away from the piercing roars, and out of the village._

This time I awoke to sunlight pouring through the window. Musashi had made breakfast. "Good morning Gastronome" he said, welcoming me to a new day. "How did you sleep?" he asked. "Not very well" I sighed. "I had a terrible dream." "Would you like to talk about it?" Musashi purred. "No, I'm fine." I said. I really wasn't fine, but I didn't want the cat to worry. I finished breakfast, and gave him a Pin Tuna. Now was time for his breakfast.

I pulled on my velociprey armor. I had salvaged parts from my Velociprey battle earlier. I loved it. it made me feel so professional. I sheathed my Viper Bite, and walked out the door.

I stepped into a sunny day in the village. People were bartering at the market, the blacksmiths were making armor, and the two guys at the picnic table babbled on about the stupidity of one another. As I turned to wave to the market lady, I tripped on a stone, and fell flat on my face. She stood there giggling. I hurriedly got up and walked swiftly to the Guild Hall. I wasn't experienced enough to join, but the chief was always there. I greeted him good morning and asked if there were any quests he wanted me to do. I looked at the list. "Get rid of the Velocidrome" said the flyer across the top. "It can't be that hard, I had slain six Velociprey, surely this thing couldn't add up to that." I exclaimed. I paid my contract fee, and started off to the forest.

As I walked, images of my dream projected in my mind. What did it mean? Was my village in danger? No, the lookouts will report any danger. I tried shaking the images from my head, and tried to think about my upcoming battle with this "Velocidrome." it didn't seem that hard. I crossed a streambed and rounded the corner. Then I saw the most magnificent sight; a vast valley with a small river coursing through it. Behind me was a large forest. I stood there taking in the spectacular sight.

I decided to explore the area to learn my surroundings. Hopped across the stream, and climbed up a swirling path of vines to the top of a cliff. I stood on top of the cliff. I could see everything from up here. It was fantastic. The huge land stretched out before me. i could even see the smoke from the chimney of the Guild Hall. I set up camp, and headed off towards the forest.

The forest was also quite large. I sit down on a log, making several Melynx that were hiding in the log blast across the forest floor in surprise. I checked my weapons and items. I had some herbs, whetstones, rations, and a flash bomb. I had never used a flash bomb before. "I had better save it." I said to myself. As I started to trek further on,, a blue figure caught my eye. It was a velociprey, but bigger, and an orange crest set on its head. Huge claws curled up. "There you are" I said quietly, sneaking up to it. "It's just you and me, one on one" I stepped on a dead leaf making a defined _crunch_. The beast looked up and spotted me. My cover was lost. I ran towards the blue creature, my sword gripped tightly in one hand. As I ran ever closer, the beast just looked at me, and screamed in the air several times. In unison, dozens of velociprey ran forth from their hiding places.

I skidded to a halt. I had never seen so many blue in my life. They started to close in on me, I turned to run, but they had me blocked in. I threw caution to the wind and ran at one of the beasts. I ran up, and cleaved through it. Jumping over the falling body, I ran for dear life. I could tell they were following me. Dozens of thumping footsteps pounded the ground. My clumsiness caused me to trip over a rock. They walked up to me, one of them stepped on my arm, digging its foot claw into my fore arm, I screamed in pain, and dropped my sword. The scream apparently stunned the blue creatures. Now was my opening, I grabbed the sword with my good arm, and swung upward; Cutting one across the face. Blood sprayed from the monster's neck, all over my armor. I had hit an artery. The others were confused, and started jumping all over the place, sometimes hitting their own. I navigated my way through the hysteria, when one of them pounced on my back. I had my sword held with the blade to my back, in turn of knocking me to the ground, the prey had jumped into a razor sharp Viper Bite. It lay there, dead; its heart had been punctured.

In the distance, the Velocidrome was coming. The remaining ten velociprey had gained their senses, and were coming for me again. Now was the time. I thrust my hand into my bag and pulled out the flash bomb. as the drew ever closer, I flicked the wheel, striking the flint. I threw it to the ground, and covered my eyes. Even through armor, I could see the blinding flash.

When I looked up, and Velociprey all were dazed and stumbled around aimlessly. I immediately went for the Velocidrome. I ran up, and thrust my sword in its stomach, swing around over its back, I came down again slashing down its side, breaking a few ribs. The monster squealed in pain of the broken bones, and stumbled over; its head fell onto my unsheathed blade, impaling it. I had killed it. "But what about the others?" They had regained most of their sight, and were slowly walking towards me.

A huge red wyvern landed on the ground in a deafening crash scattering the monsters. As it slid across the ground, recovering from the landing, it swerved around and gripped one velociprey in its jaws crunching every bone in its body with one bite. Its tremendous tail whipped around and clubbed some of the blue creatures into each other, creating a mass of dead bodies. I grabbed the dead Velocidrome body by the tail and ran. The huge wyvern noticed the moving blue target, and chased after me. Each booming footstep shook the ground as it ran, making me stumble several times. With a roar, the monster dove for the meat, as I dodged to the right. Carrying a huge body, added a lot of weight.

The monster stumbled towards me, quickly, still dazed from the impact. I came upon a narrow path; one side was a steep hill, leading down into the valley. It chased me down the path, and dove again as I threw myself, and my trophy, over the side. I hit the ground, and slid down the slope, barely holding onto the tail of my kill. I stuck my legs out, and pushed off a tree. I flew through the air, in a front flip, and landed on the steep hill. Finally, the slope ended, and me, and the dead Velocidrome body tumbled into the creek bed.

Back at camp, I put the body in large bag, not knowing what to do with it. "What a day" I mumbled as I looked up at the vast night sky. I didn't want to fall asleep, fearing the horrible dream might come back again. I couldn't stop my self though, and I drifted off to sleep.

I awoke the next day. my fire had burned out, and it was now sunny. I had slept well. No terrible dreams. I grabbed my supplies and the bag, frustratingly climbed to the ground while holding everything, crossed the stream, and headed to home.


	3. Chapter 3

I trudged back to the village carrying a now foul-smelling carcass behind me. People turned to look in amazement; or they just wondered what that smell was. I went into my house. "Welcome back Gastronome!" Musashi squealed. "Nya! What is that stench?" he asked covering his nose. "Hi Musashi" I mumbled. "I have been dragging this body with me for hours." "Why didn't you just carve off the good parts?" he asked. "What?!? You mean I could have just carried back a few claws and some scales?" I cried. "Agh...I need a drink" I said, trying to calm down. "Take the rest of the day off." "Thank you Gastronome!" Musashi purred in delight.

As I entered the Guild Hall, the chief greeted me. "How'd the hunt go young'n?" he asked. "Pretty good." I said. "Are there any more?" The old man pulled a list out of his pocket. "Well, here's one for ya; Slay a Kut-Ku" He handed me a slip with the quest information on it. a Kut-Ku? What in the world was that? I decided to find out. I paid my fee, washed up, and gathered my usual supplies. I once again headed out of the village. This time, I headed for the jungle.

I had walked for almost a day. I had finally reached the jungle; a huge waterfall lay before me. It seemed like everywhere I went lately had a beautiful sight...and blood-thirsty monsters. I set up camp on the cliff near the waterfall. There was a box next to where I set up camp. It had a note on it. "New items in here" it read. "Hope they come in handy." the village chief had sent them.

The next morning, I awoke to find my sleeping bag completely drenched. The mist off of the water fall had settled on it. I ate some breakfast Musashi had sent with me, and went to see what was in the box. The usual; potions, rations, whetstones, and something new. A pitfall trap and Barrel bombs. The trap had instructions. _Lay disc on ground. Twist timer ring. Lead wyvern onto trap. _ "Simple" I said. With that, I set off into the jungle.

The air was thick, and heavy. And the foliage made vision over distances impossible. I looked at the flyer. "It's pink?" I said to my self. "At least it will be easy to see. I walked on through the jungle. As I stopped to take a break, I heard a flock of birds fly from the trees. The trees were shaking. Something was getting nearer. I sprang up, and ran through the trees unknowingly, headlong into danger.

As I ran towards whatever had been here, a pink flash flew from the sky, tackling me to the ground. Large monsters tackling me to the ground; this seemed to be a common occurrence for me. I stared into the face of a large pink monster, almost as big as the red one that killed all of those velociprey. Bright pink scales covered its body; a huge beak took the place of jaws. The wyvern's ears fanned out as it screamed in my face. I unsheathed my blade, and jammed it deep in the wyvern's foot. It let out a yelp as it tumbled backwards. I shot into action. I lunged forward and struck the wyvern on its side; expecting my blade to go through. Instead, it bounced off the thick hide, sending me whirling to the ground. My blade had been chipped.

I rolled out of the way as a beak came smashing to the ground. I jumped between its legs, and kept running behind it. It turned around and started chasing me. I shakily pulled out a whetstone from my bag, and roughly sharpened the blade as I kept running. Not a perfect sharpen, but it would have to do. I dove to the side, as the wyvern skidded to a halt, and turned to me. I thrusted my blade upward, puncturing the stomach of the beast. It cried out in pain as blood spilled from the wound. The infuriated wyvern swung around, whipping its tail into me. I spun through the air, and landed at the base of a tree trunk. The wyvern pounced on me. My body sunk into the soft slush of mud under the sheer weight of the wyvern. Somehow, I managed to free my arm form under the foot of the wyvern, and whipped it through the air, slashing its face. It stumbled back a few yards. I looked up at a huge mangrove tree. I was good at climbing trees. I often did it when I was a youth. Maybe I could use it as an advantage.

The wyvern let out a cry, and ran towards me slinging fireballs from its mouth to either side. I dodged out of the charge, the wyvern hit the tree. I jumped on its head, and climbed up the tree; one hand at a time. I finally reached a high point. The wyvern below staggered from the impact, screeching loudly. I judged the distance. I could survive the jump, but the Kut-ku couldn't.

I ran across the branch, and dove into the air. I felt weightless as time seemed to stop before gravity took me back down to earth. I held my blade tightly with the point facing down. I collided with the monster, burying my blade deep in its beak. My momentum had forced the blade through the beak, and the hilt was caught on what seemed to be its tongue. I stood up on the shaking wyvern's head, pulling my blade as hard as I could. At last, the hilt burst through the top of the beak, and hit me in the head, making me dizzy. The wyvern threw its head back in agony screaming to the heavens. I flew up in the air, and came down again, stabbing the creature in the eye. I held on the sword, as the wyvern shook. I couldn't take it any more.

I let go, being flung into the air. I landed on a rock. With a sickening crack, I held my side, trying to overcome the pain of a broken rib. The wyvern, lifted of my weight, stumbled around for a bit. Before I knew it, the beast had fallen to the ground again. Its head bowed. I got up; infuriated. I walked up to the wyvern, placed my foot in its eye, and kicked the protruding blade deeper into the monster's head; splitting its brain. Its eyes glazed over and its ears folded back as it fell to the ground.

After much digging, and pulling, I freed my sword from the monster's right eye. I made sure to carve off the largest, most valuable looking parts like the body plates, the severed beak, and ears. I hacked my way out of the dense undergrowth out into the open air. I gathered up all of my materials, took one last look at the waterfall, and went on my way.


	4. Chapter 4

I walked along the worn dirt path back to the village. Merchants often used this route to trade with other villages and towns. The kut-ku parts that I carved off had gotten sticky with all of the blood caked on them. I stopped by a small pond to wash them off. I saw the face of a handsome young hunter staring back at me; and something else.

Two eyes popped out of the water. Following them were two long, antennae that slithered around my face like snakes. I brushed them aside and watched in amazement as a crab the size of 3 men emerged from the small pond. The skull of a large wyvern was positioned on its back. I put the kut-ku parts in my bag. It had smelt the blood in the water. I dove to the side as a hulking claw smashed into the earth. The crab's shell rattled; it wasn't used to killing on land. As I recovered from the dive, the beast swung another claw towards me. I grabbed both pincers, trying not to let them close on me.

The monster leaned forward, putting it's weight into its claw. Thousands of gnawing teeth showed in rows in the crab's mouth. Small claws clicked around its jaws; waiting to push its prey down into the death-trap of teeth. Another claw came down. I rolled out of its way, under the claw I was holding. I came up behind it, and twisted until the claw came off. To my surprise, no blood spilled out. White meat was exposed from the severed limb.

It fell over, in obvious pain. The fall made the skull slide off. As it desperately tried to get up with only one claw, I heaved the huge appendage I was holding downward, the claw crushed into the crab's back. The makeshift weapon slid off the wet shell, revealing a crater from where it hit. I pulled of the bottom pincer, and threw it aside. The crab swung its other claw around; grazing me on the side of the head. I flew to the ground; my eyesight blurred from the hit. All I could see was a large silhouette scuttle towards me. I felt a pincer close around my ankle and felt the chill of cool water engulf me. I awoke underwater, my lungs burning from lack of air. I was desperate to get oxygen. I swam up, my armor holding me back. I felt a squeeze, and I jerked back another few feet. My heartbeat was heavy, and my blood was pulsing, making every vein in my body bulge out.

I looked back, the crab was holding on to my leg, its claw slowly denting my armor. Then I noticed that I was still holding the claw. I jabbed it towards the monster's mouth. The sharp point of the claw, jammed into the crab's mouth. I could hear the faint screech even through the water. The crab freed my leg, and slid back into the bottom of the pond. I burst up from the water, my lungs heaving, taking in every amount of air they could find. I threw the large claw onto land. Wait. I could carve the crab. I quickly took in a breath, and dove back underwater. I found the dead monster with its legs curled under its body.

I dug my blade under its top shell, and wiggled it around. After a few slices, and three breaks of air, the shell wiggled loose. I swam up, holding the large flat plate, and threw it on land. I then proceeded to pull of the other claw. It was harder underwater. I places both feet against the body for leverage, and pulled it off. I threw myself onto land, and placed the claw by the other parts. These were too big to fit in my bag. I threw the crab's arms over my shoulder, and dragged the shell and skull behind me, as I followed the path to my village.

I walked slowly into the village, showing off the parts I had carved off my fallen prey to everybody. I entered my house, and laid the parts down on my bed. I pulled out the kut-ku parts, and placed them in my item box. I pulled my other, larger chest out of a corner, and wiped off the dust. I placed several large chunks of ice in it. i turned to grab the crab parts, when I saw Musashi desperately trying to break the hard shell against the floor. "Oh, uhh hello Gastronome." he said accusingly. "Just softening it up for you." he smiled. "well, thanks Musashi" I said. I saw him eying the claw, drooling. "Okay you little hethern" I said. I gave him a part of the meat from the claw. "Thank you Gastronome!" I shouted. "Bless you!" he said as he curled up on my bed, licking the crab meat.

I walked into the Guild Hall, seeing the village chief walk over to me. "I heard you slain a Zizami!" he exclaimed. "A what?" I was confused. Then I remembered the crab. "Oh, the crab?" I asked. "it gave me hell, that's for sure." I sighed. "Are you ready to fight a bigger one?" he asked. I paused, considering my current situation. There was a silence. I had made up my mind. "How much does it pay?" I asked. "Thirty-thousand zenni." he said. I could use the money. I agreed. I took the flyer, and folded it up, and put it in my pocket. I sit down sipping a glass of ale. Several drunken village men stumbled around at one end of the bar. I looked through the paper. The quest was in the desert. I finished my drink. I decided to do the quest tomorrow. I haven't slept in my own bed in two days.

I hung up my armor, and slid under the woolen bed sheets. I could feel Musashi's small form curl up beside me at the foot of my bed. It wasn't long before. I fell into a deep sleep.

_I was in the desert. Several other hunters were fighting a tremendous crab with skull on its back. The skull had a huge horn protruding from the front. A hunter came running past me pointing over my shoulder. I turned around, and saw, the crab swing its massive claw, scattering several hunters. As they ran in my direction, it turned and saw me. It raised a gigantic pincer; I was so scared I couldn't move. All I saw was a tremendous claw coming down quickly on top of me._

I shot up; knocking Musashi off of the bed. "What's wrong Gastronome?" he asked rubbing his head. "Something bad is going to happen tomorrow." I said, "I can feel it." I couldn't believe what I had dreamt; it was so... real. Who were the other hunters though? I pulled on my armor, and grabbed my Viper Bite. "Take care of the house Musashi" I called, opening the door. "I'll be back."

I walked off into the still night air east towards the desert. The full moon set glowing in the sky. Whatever was supposed to happen on that hunt tomorrow wasn't going to happen anymore.


	5. Chapter 5

I traversed the narrow path carefully. It had been four hours since I left my village. As I rounded the corner, I slipped on a patch off moss. I slid down the side of the cliff, and held onto a thatch of Needleberries. I ignored the stinging pain, and hoisted myself back onto the path.

I took a sap plant from my bag, and tore off a leaf. The sticky sap would slow the swelling. Placing it against my palm, I navigated slowly, until I saw the town.

The buildings were placed together two rows opposite from each other. I stocked up on potions, and more sap plants at the herb shop, and then proceeded to the blacksmith. It was time for a new weapon.

The shop smelled of oil, fire and iron. Several Felynes sharpened blades in the back. An unfinished Lacerator Blade lay hanging up from the ceiling. I had never seen so much weaponry in my life. Huge broadswords lined the walls, and katanas sit on specialized frames with the hilt traditionally facing north.

A large man approached me. "Do you have anything cheap, but strong?" I asked. I was on a budget if I was going to afford a new armor set.

"Well, this here katana is made with galvanized machalite" he replied. "The blade was sharpened with an Ioprey fang; its poison to touch." he continued. "How much?" I asked.

"Twelve hundred zenni" he replied. "I'll take it." I said, leaving him the money.

I rented a room at the Guild Hall that night. I put my Viper Bite in the item box, and locked it. I walked down into the main tavern. It was buzzing with activity. Some people toasted over flagons of ale, some sharpened weapons, and some scanned a large clipboard in the back for quests. One hunter loaded her bowgun up on ammunition.

A lone hunter sat at a table reading a slip of paper. "Slay a Zizami" it said across the top. A large broadsword lay leaned against the table beside him. "You need any help?" I asked showing him my paper. "Sure, but two people can't take down a Zizami" he pointed out. "We need some help; how about him?" he pointed to a tall hunter at the back of the tavern.

The hunter sat with a large bow strapped to his back, dipping several arrows in a thick, violet liquid. "I'll go talk to him" I said, walking over to the archer.

"Have you ever taken down a Zizami?" I asked. "Once or twice" he said in a stern tone. "So do you think you can help us?" I asked half expecting him to walk away.

"Sure, I can always use another trophy." He said smiling. "Great, we leave at noon." I said. "So is he in?" The other hunter asked. "Yes" I said. "He's in."

At high sunrise, our team of makeshift hunters set out for the desert. After a few hours, hunger took its tool on us. We stopped and set up camp on a small cliff overlooking the desert.

The skeleton of a monster they called Monoblos lay in the distance. "That is where the Zizami should be" said the archer. "They like to use large skulls as shells for protection."

After we ate, we went over the plan one more time. The archer would distract the Zizami while the blademaster and I climbed up the skull, and hit the weak spot.

It took approximately thirty minutes to make it to the skeleton. We kept our distance, not wanting to wake the monster prematurely. As we crept closer, something caught my eye.

Another group of hunters was coming this way. We ran over to them. "Have you seen a large crab-like monster called a Zizami? The lead hunter asked. Three other hunters stood behind him. Two had a pair of dual blades, and one had a large broadsword strapped to his back.

"We are looking for it also" I said to him. "It is supposedly in that skeleton back there" I pointed the huge pile of bones have sunken in the sand.

"Well, perhaps we can team up." He proposed. "Sounds good" I said. Before any more words could be exchanged the skull began to shift under the sand.

The Zizami erupted from the sand. The scene was immediately thrown into complete chaos. Hunters dashed around relaying orders to one another. Others just stood there in complete amazement at the edifice that had appeared.

I wandered around aimlessly in the mayhem trying to see what was going on. One hunter tackled me to the ground as a tremendous claw sweeped the top of his armor. "Thanks" I managed to gasp. "Don't mention it" he said.

An arrow flew by my head and straight into the crab's face. A fiery explosion knocked me back. "Sorry" called a grinning archer. I dove to the side as a claw jammed into the ground. I trusted my sword into its claw. The crab shook loose from the sand, nursing its wound.

"Get to the skull!" the swordsman called to me and two other hunters. I took the lead; sprinting under the beast, dodging the legs stumbling about, and hitting the ground. The two other hunters trailed behind; ducking under the pincers swiping at them.

Once we were in position, the other two hunters threw tow cables up and hooked them into the shell. I took a shot, over throwing, and apparently hitting it in the head. We started to climb.

Every five or so feet, my cable would wrench in the skull of the beast, causing it to wiggle about. Once I reached a place where I could stand, I looked upon the battle below. The archer skillfully dodged and ran, pumping arrow after arrow into the monster's face.

The swordsman sprinted from leg to leg, cleaving through them as he ran; his broadsword over his shoulder. Several other hunters dashed in to attack the head, and backed off to avoid injury.

The sight made me forget about my objective. "Watch out!" one hunter called from atop the skull. It was too late. A stray swiped caught me across the back, knocking me into the horn.

Before I knew it, the horn creaked, and cracked off. I hit the ground heavily. The horn landed inches from my head, sticking into the ground. "The horn is off" I called the group up front. It took three hunters to lift the mighty spike, and carry it away.

I got up, and traversed the shell again; digging my feet into every nook and cranny I could find. After the longest five minutes of my life, I reached the head. I took a firm hold of the tow cable, and heaved backwards as hard as I could.

The Zizami shrieked and reared up; its legs flailing helplessly through the air. Seizing their chance, hunters with dual swords flung themselves at its stomach; shredding at the soft under shell with a fury of slashes, so fast, I had trouble keeping up.

After a solid minute of slashing and stabbing, and tired hunters back off. The Zizami slammed back to the ground, bucking me meters in the air, and into the ground. The sheer force of the landing knocked the very breath from me.

I looked around, my lungs desperate for air. My vision had been blurred from the hit. I doubled over, choking and gasping when I saw several hunters run towards the crab's outstretched left claw. "Get back" I gasped. "Stop. Please." My rasping words were to quiet to save them. With a mighty swing, the claw slammed to the ground, scattering the hunters.

They landed in a heap, some landed yards away from the attack. Even through my blurred, dizzy vision, I could see some were dead. Others lay there, moaning; injured, but still alive. I got up, and stumbled around a bit, my lungs slowly filling with air, and my vision returning to me.

"Get down!" a voice shouted. I threw myself to the ground, as another arrow whizzed threw the air, hitting its mark with a loud explosion. The force threw me back out of the way of a claw landing on my previous spot.

Several hunters rushed in, and attached tow cables to the Zizami's front. Through all of their combined efforts, the beast began to slide forwards. Its legs anchored to the ground, sending the hunters tumbling off balance.

They regained control, as a hunter with blade the size of two men rushed in, and attacked the crab's face with a series of powerful, deafening blows, wielding the blade with surprising speed.

"Back up!" I shouted to a group of approaching hunters. As they obeyed, a sickening pink tentacle shot forth from the Zizami's mouth, devouring their weapons from their very hands.

One more step, and they would have suffered the same fate. I got out of the way, as a hunter in bulky, iron armor approached. His bowgun folded up, he loaded shot after shot into a large chamber.

He flipped up the front of the gun, and the barrel clicked into place. He knelt, firing a swirling missile-like round at the monster's head. The sheer kick from the shot sent him sliding back several feet.

As the round hit, the explosion caused the crab to stumble back, hundreds of smaller bombs then rained forth from the original; buffeting the Zizami with crippling force.

A hunter in light battle armor rushed under the monster, and thrust a large pike in its stomach repeatedly. He ducked as a scuttling leg swung over him. He ran out just in time; the Zizami's huge body fell to the ground.

We cautiously made our way to the body, weapons drawn. As I walked closer, the pink tentacle shot out of the mouth again, grabbing my leg. The clicking teeth around it conformed to my armor.

I felt myself being dragged towards the monster's open mouth. Thousands of sharp teeth awaited me. The monster salivated as I was dragged helplessly closer to my demise.

I started swing my katana blindly, whirling, and whipping it through the air as hard as I could. One hit severed the tentacle, and it released my leg. When I swung, the chambers containing poison on the blade busted, spilling the thick, violet liquid all over the tentacle as it retreated back in the Zizami's mouth.

After a minute, the beast began scuttling around aimlessly, tipping over, and stumbling around. The poison was taking its toll. I ran under the monster, dodging the huge legs that were hitting the ground, some knocked me on my back.

When I reached the under shell, I jammed my sword into its stomach, and ran. I sprinted as fast as I could across the monster's width, my blade, still in the monster, slashed and tore at the soft shell as I ran, leaving a trail of mixed poison and blood.

I reached the other side of the monster, and pulled my blade out of its stomach, my now it had sunk to almost its full length. I dove out of the way of the swiping legs and claws. I had dropped my katana under its stomach. I sprinted back, grabbing my sword, and falling backwards in time for a tremendous pincer to pierce the ground front of me. I turned and ran, slashing at the legs and claws as I went. Deep violet fluids left contrails of where my blade had swung.

I stumbled and turned around as I hit the ground. The monster's legs swiped and hit whatever they could find to keep standing, but the poison had already reached the beast's heart.

With a dying shriek, the mighty Zizami fell to the ground lifeless. A victory cry echoed across the immediate area from the hunters. Zizami was dead. I started climbing all over the dead body, carving claws, shells, and whatever else I could find.

The sun was setting. I stood on top of the huge beast. I could see for miles at this height. I raised my sword, and yelled to the sky. Many hunters followed in unison.

That night all of the hunters returned to our camp on the desert cliff, and we ate, and shared stories of one another's adventures, showing off the parts that we had carved from the battle against the Zizami. This was a hunt I will never forget.

The End


End file.
